Germany Sees 14% Rise in Pakistani Students Over Two Years

Germany is a Schengen zone country that demands the best students in academia: applicants with profiles exceeding sixty-five percent—whether after class twelve or with an equivalent CGPA—are seriously entertained—particularly those with overall 6.5/7.0/7.5 bands in IELTS.

To qualify for a half-decent German university—public or private—you cannot be anything less than extraordinary.

Additionally, to secure a German visa successfully, you must ensure your academic documents are attested by all the correct local ministries and authorities.

In the first instance, your certificates will have to be verified by the relevant educational board. This could be BISE, IBCC, or HEC—depending upon your existing level of education.

Following this, you will require a MOFA attestation, and then undertake the APS certification process, the ultimate credentials’ verification process facilitated by the German Embassy; however, the initial process is done online.

Please note that this is a mandatory requirement without which a visa is impossible.

The final verification certificate is issued by the Academic Evaluation Centre at the German Embassy in Islamabad.

Through this process, your academic transcripts are verified, and confirmation is received that your qualifications meet German academic and higher education standards.

This additional process has been initiated by Germany specifically for Pakistan, India, China, and Vietnam to prevent fraud and to ensure proper academic equivalence.

Upon issuance, the APS certification is valid for up to five years.

The processing fee for the certificate is around €185 (which is roughly PKR 55, 000 to 60, 000).

Once the required documents are submitted, the APS process takes between eight to twelve weeks to fruition.

To get started, applicants will be required to create an account on the APS Pakistan portal, secondly, the fee will have to be paid, thirdly, all notarized and attested copies of the applicant’s academic documents (Matric, Inter/FSc, Bachelor’s, etc) will be submitted along with the relevant English language proficiency test certificate, APS fee receipt, and a copy of your passport—to the APS office in Islamabad.

Following this, you may be required to attend a short verification interview, and when you receive your APS certificate, you can submit it along with your documents for admission at a German university of your choice—and subsequently for your visa application.

So to sum up: applicants must have a strong academic background, meet stringent entry requirements, ideally possess IELTS certification with a high overall band, and undertake the APS process prior to making their university application and their visa application.